Charles alfred eoulger



C. A. FOULGER.

GARMENT STAY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8. 1915.

l 1 95,1 95 Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

Witnesses: Charles A Foulyer'.

lnventn S ATE @FFIQE.

CHARLES ALFRED FOULGER, OF LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA.

GARMENT-STAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 8, 1915. Serial No. 13,077.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. FoULeER, a citizen of the United States, residing at London, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Stays; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to garment stays.

In order to more clearly disclose the construction, operation, and use of the inve11- tion, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of the present application.

Throughout the several figures of the drawings like reference characters designate the same parts.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of the stay; Fig. 2 is a front plan view; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the construction.

The main objects of the invention are to produce a garment stay which can be quickly and cheaply manufactured; which will be rust proof and will not chafe itself; which will give the greatest amount of support combined with the maximum flexibility; and

which is so constructed that its flexibility is due directly to torsion and not to the bending of the metal of which it is constructed,

1 as in the ordinary stay.

The applicant is aware that stays constructed of continuous and connected inetallic loops are common; but in this form of construction the supporting and flexing qualities of the stay are directly dependent on the bending of the metal of which they are constructed. Applicant has so constructed his stay that the horizontal and vertical members are all at alternately different angles, each to the other. By this construction, no matter how the stay is bent, a twist is bound to be caused.

The stay is constructed of a single strand of spring steel wire plated with any suitable non-rusting material, such as nickel.

The wire 1 is bent to form two contiguous, continuous, and connected rows of vertically overlapping squares 2 provided at each end with the usual metal tip 3 to prevent tearing the materialinclosing the stay.

The manner of constructing the stay is shown in Fig. 3. The wire 1 is first bent to the left at right angles to form a horizontal rod 4, it is then bent down at 5 at right angles to form a vertical rod 5 of half the length of rod 4, then bent inwardly at 6 to form a horizontal rod 7, bent upwardly at 8 to form a central, vertical rod 9, bent outwardly at 1.0 to form a horizontal rod 11 which falls directly in front of the right half of rod 4, and then bent down at 12. This forms the left square and two sides of the right square. To complete the right square the wire would be bent to the left at right angles on a line with rod 7 to form a horizontal rod 18, the right half of which would form the lower side of the right square, and the left half of which would fall in front of the lower rod 7 of the left hand square and would form the top rod of the next left hand square, corresponding to the left half of the horizontal rod 4. By bending the wire in the above manner two contiguous connected squares .are produced. By constructing the bending in the manner and order given any desired number of squares may be produced, in two vertical rows, the lower rod of each square being overlapped by the upper rod of the square directly below it, and all of the squares being contiguous. By this construction the squares are formed in pairs, each pair being formed by three vertical rods and four horizontal rods. Each of the transverse bars 4 extend parallel with each other and when the stay is in its normal position the bars will lie in the same vertical plane as better illustrated in Fig. 1, but are arranged diagonally in their horizontal plane so that the portions 7 and 11 will lie on each side of the portions 4. The three vertical rods of each sections of the stay forming the blocks extend at a slightly inclined angle with respect to the base of the stay as better shown in Fig. 1. By so arranging the rods of each section of the stay the stay may be bent in any desired direction so as to be an absolutely flexible stay without twisting or bending the wire. In order to bring the left half of rod 13 in front of rod 6, rod 13 is bent slightly outward at the right hand lower corner of the right hand square, which causes a slight twist of the wire at this angle. This completes one set of the squares. The construction of the balance of 1 10 the square is the same as described above, the wire being bent and twisted in the manner and order stated. Another effect of bending the rods -.land 13 alternately backward and forward, and of bending the center rod 9 outwardly, is to cause the squares 2 to set at a slight incline from front to back; the center rods 9 being at a somewhat greater angle than the rest of the square, as shown in Fig. 1. Also, in each pair of squares the three vertical rods are at different angles to each other, and the four horizontal rods are at different angles to each other, and each of the vertical rods' 1s at a sllghtly differentangle to the horizontal rods than its predecessor.

By this construction, having in mind the incline of squares, the different angles of the vertical and horizontal rods in relation to each other, the difference in the angles of the vertical rods as compared to each other in relation to the horizontal rods, the

greater incline of the center rods as com pared to the end rods, and the twists of the wire at the several angles; it will be evident that no matter how the stay is bent a twist will be caused.

It is thought that the construction, operation, and use of the invention will be clear from the preceding detailed description. Changes may be made in the construction, 7

arrangement, and disposition of the several parts of theinvention without in any way departing from the field and scope of the same, and it is meant to include all such within this application wherein only a pre ferred form has been disclosed.

Having thus fuly described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A garment stay formed from a continuous strand of wire comprising a plurality of sections, each section consisting of horizontal and vertical rods for forming squares adapted to be arranged in two columns, the lower horizontal rod of each square being overlapped bythe upper rod of the square directly. below it and all of said squares being arranged contiguous,

2. A garment stay consisting of a single strand of wire comprising a plurality of sections and each section being divided into two squares, a horizontal rod dividing each section, said horizontal rods lying parallel with each other in the same plane, each block having a horizontal rod and the last said horizontal rods adapted to rest. upon each side adjacent each end of the first mentioned horizontal rods and vertical rods connecting' said horizontal rods'but extending at an angle with respect to the stay and said- CHARLES ALFRED FOULGER.

Witnesses:

SADIE JOHNSTON, WINNIFRED HICKS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

hereunto set 

